Within the framework of the peripheral anniversary events of the Holy Synod in honour of the bicentenary of the outset of the Greek Revolution, on Sunday, September 19, 2021, in the Katholikon of the Holy Monastery of Saint Demetrios of Zalongo, a Divine Eucharist and a Memorial Service for the rest of the souls of the women from Souli who threw themselves from the rock of Zalongo (1803) were performed, with Most Rev. Metropolitan Chryssostomos officiating.

An event followed under the title “Zalongo, a Threshing Floor of Freedom and Sacrifice”, in which Most Rev. Metropolitan Chryssostomos of Trikki and Stagoi represented the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece and read out a message from HB Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all Greece. Hymns were chanted by the “Chorus Nicopolitanus” Choir of Cantors of the Holy Metropolitanate of Nikopolis and Preveza, and a relevant public lecture was delivered by a Greek scholar. Subsequently, folk songs were performed by vocal ensembles and orchestras of traditional music, including variations of the Song of the Dance of Zalongo.

The Most Rev. Metropolitan closed the event by stating that the sacrifice of the women from Souli is an example of courage, boldness, bravery, determination, and a valiant frame of mind. Specifically he noted:

We bow before the immutable decision of those women to preserve the ethos and dignity which mark the human person as unrepeatable and unique image of God by sacrificing their lives so that they may find themselves in eternity, with their souls pure from foul acts of violence and of reduction to utter slavery, and unenslaved by tyrants. […] The heroic acts of men and women in the Struggle for Freedom demonstrate a world of values which is lifted way above the interest-centred material reality of time. They manifest the value of HUMAN BEING”.

Finally, he expressed his thanks to HB Archbishop Ieronymos and the Holy Synod around him, the representative of the Holy Synod Most Rev. Metropolitan Chryssostomos of Trikki and Stagoi, those who contributed to the event, the local authorities and bodies, and all those attending.

The event was held in strict observance of all the health measures stipulated for the avoidance and containment of the spread of the Coronavirus.